title: Aminotransferase as a prognostic index in infants with liver disease.
abstract: To assess the utility of the serum aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase (AST/ALT) ratio in a group of infants with liver disorders, we retrospectively analyzed the charts of 73 infants with chronic liver disorders. Patients were considered as having either a good outcome (n = 40) or a poor outcome (n = 33), based upon the clinical course. AST and ALT in serum were measured simultaneously at the time of initial presentation and at various follow-up visits during the first 13 months after birth. At presentation (mean age 1.65 months), there was no difference in the AST/ALT ratios between the good (1.61 +/- 0.62; mean +/- SD) and poor (1.65 +/- 0.78) outcome groups (P = 0.81). However, over time, the AST/ALT ratio increased in patients in the poor-outcome group and decreased in patients in the good-outcome group. Calculating the AST/ALT ratio appears to be an easy, early, and reliable prognostic indicator for infants with hepatic disease, and may be a useful measure for evaluating liver-disease patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles, CA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haight
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase